Embrace
by Babelvr54
Summary: Warning: Sappy story ahead. I've always wanted to explore the idea of gently love. Just gentle understanding, where life is just stable. Everyday kind of love. The story is finished, I'm uploading all of it tonight. So enjoy. Babe story, no cupcakes were harmed. Kid friendly. I did it! It's complete. :D Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

It had been a stressful week for Ranger and he was about ready to throw the towel and go to bed. To top it all off he had a tonne of paperwork he needed to finish. Suddenly, the door to his office opened, startling him. There stood the one person he always wanted to see after a long day. His Babe.

Normally, whenever Stephanie entered his building he was instantly notified, but it seemed that she had chosen to take the stairs, judging by her heavy breathing. Instead of her normal bright smile, there was a slight frown on her face. Before he could ask her about whatever was on her mind, she shut the door and walked to his side of the desk and sat on his lap. She put a finger of his lips, indicating that she didn't want to talk and just lay her head on his shoulder. They held each other like that for about fifteen minutes before she kissed him lightly on the cheek and walked out.

He was mystified by his Babe, but he had loved being able to hold her. Something was definitely going on, but he would let her come to him, just as she had, because he knew pushing to talk would only make her clam up about it.

He was suddenly feeling refreshed and continued on with his paperwork, before heading up to seven for bed. He had a smile on his face and he remembered holding her. Damn, she had him wrapped around her finger. He would do anything for her, and the fact that she choose him for comfort made him feel bulletproof. A gentle sigh left his lips as sleep overtook him.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Ranger once again found himself sitting at his desk as the sunset over Trenton. He had to review some insurance paperwork which Tank normally handled. He changed the feed to look over his employees, everyone seemed to be focused, and then he noticed his Babe in the reception area. She gave the camera her signature wave and headed to the elevator. She was smiling now, so whatever it was that happened yesterday must have been dealt with. He didn't realise how tense he was until he relaxed.

The normal hum of the floor increased as she greeted all the men on her way to his office. They were all like toddlers when it came to having her attention. Everyone wanted to be the centre of her attention and she somehow made everyone feel like they were. She finally made it to his office and shut the door. He once again found his arms full of his Babe as she sat on his lap holding him close. He decided that the couch would be more comfortable and picked her up and moved. They both sat there, just breathing each other in. It was as though all the noise in their collective heads just cleared as they sat there. Everything was right in the world as long as they were like this.

Then the fifteen minutes were over, she gave him a peck on her cheek and walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"This carried on for about three weeks, throughout the day they would behave normally. She would help him with the distractions and such, and he would help her with her captures. They sometimes had lunch, but no one brought up their fifteen minutes sessions. Even the men knew that they would see her at 5.45 on the dot. She would spend about fifteen minutes with them and then she would be in Ranger's office for fifteen minutes. She would walk out the door at 6.17. It was routine, and each and every person in the building looked forward to it. /p 


	4. Chapter 4

Another week and she started bringing the men stuck in the control room doughnuts and coffee. It was contraband, but no one would ever tell on her. Even Ranger and Tank turned a blind eye on it. Everyone was blissfully happy.

They all knew that the cop was no longer in the picture and that Steph was not dating anyone, but no one knew what was going on inside the office everyday 6 pm sharp. All they knew is that they didn't want it to stop.

She was getting better at take downs. She had even started going on morning runs and trained with Hector for take-downs. Her car hadn't blown up in six months and she had moved to a safer place. Everything was going smoothly, too smoothly. Ranger was always in a good mood these days, which meant that all the men were in a good mood.

Ranger was on cloud nine. Every day, he made sure that he was in his office at six sharp. She would come into his office and they would sit there, in silence for fifteen minutes. He loved every second of it. He dreaded having to let her go, but the thought that she would be back the next day kept him going. His business had grown since her daily visits. Apparently, his clients thought he was more 'approachable'. Tank had even opened up a new account where he deposited 10% of every new business they acquired, calling it 'The Bombshell Effect'.


	5. Chapter 5

Then it happened. She didn't show. At 5.45 the men held their breath, waiting for her to walk through the door. Maybe she's running late they thought, maybe there's traffic, maybe her mother's calling her. Five more minutes and everyone was tense. Ten minutes more and the tension in the control room could've been cut by a knife. All the guys were edgy.

At six, they all held their breaths. 6.01 Ranger came out to the control room and asked to pull up her tracker. The tracker indicated that she was at Point Pleasant. Ranger walked out the door, his face tight. Everyone knew not to get in his way.

Ranger had been through hell and high water within his lifetime, but when at 5.45 his Babe didn't enter his building, he was tense, he was ready to go out and track her down. A million scenarios ran thorough his head, each worse than the last. He had finally been at a stage where everything was right in his world. Everything was running smoothly. His nightmares were almost gone. Even his therapist was happy with their sessions. Fifteen minutes with his Babe were better than any therapy session. He had to force himself to stay seated as the minutes ticked by. If she wasn't here by six, he was going to go track her down, bring her back and never let her go ever again.

The half an hour it took him to get to Point Pleasant was the longest half hour of his life. Her embrace was like a drug to him. He needed his fix. She was such an essential part of his life that he had moved everything around, just to make sure that she would be able to reach him. His heart was in his throat as he realised that she was his life. Everyone knew it. Now he knew it too.

This sealed it. He was going to be glued to her side from now on. He wanted a life time of hugs and he wanted them from her damn it!


	6. Chapter 6

She was sitting on the sand, watching the waves sway as he approached her. He realised that her shoulders were shaking. She was crying.

He sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. His ten thousand dollar suit could burn in hell for all he cared. She wasn't startled by his sudden presence as the engine of his car had already notified her of his presence. Her entire body shook as she cried into his shirt. He handed her a handkerchief, and kissed the top of her curly head.

"Babe…" he whispered gently into her ear.

Her arms suddenly went around his waist pulling him closer. "I am tired Ranger. I'm tired of all the bullshit that follows me. I am sick of words. They just screw everything up."

"What's going on Babe?" He was a brave man, but in this moment he was afraid that his world was about to fall apart.

"I think I'm going to move away. As long as I'm in Trenton I won't be able to stay away from you, and as long as I'm near you I won't be able to move on."

"Why would you need to move away? Everything's going fine… you haven't lost a car in seven months, you don't have any stalkers, you're catching all your skips and you're training well."

She snorted, "That is my professional life Ranger. This Bounty hunting wasn't supposed to become a career. It was a pit stop, and it's about time I move on to my destination. I've been offered a job with Pepsico. They are planning to make me the regional manager, but I can work from wherever I want. It pays well… anyway that's not the reason why I am crying."

Moving away from him, she sat across from him and took a deep breath "The first day when I came to see you, I'm sure you saw that I was upset?" At Ranger's nod, she continued "I've been thinking about making some changes in my life for a while. As much as I love flying by the seat of my pants, I also want a stable happy life. I want that both professionally and personally. Professionally, I can't do Bounty hunting for the rest of my life, eventually I'll be too old for this and I don't want to be on cross roads about my career when I'm fifty. Personally, I want a stable relationship, I want it with you, but I know that's not plausible." Seeing that he was about to interrupt her, she put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

Another deep breath and she continued, "I don't want to blame other people for my problems anymore, but the thought of life without you terrified me. I promised myself that I would give myself fifteen minutes with you. Fifteen minutes, guilt free. Fifteen minutes where I can pretend that I am a part of your life, fifteen minutes where the world doesn't exist. It felt so good. Every day, those fifteen minutes motivated me to keep going. I know I won't feel this way for anyone else, but for the sake of my sanity, I need to move on. I love you, and I understand that you don't feel the same way… or you don't want to. I don't know, either way, this is it… I am tired of wanting someone I won't ever get. I want someone who wants me."


	7. Chapter 7

His heart was trying to escape his chest as he heard her talk. He had been so lost in his happiness that he hadn't thought to question how she was feeling. It felt as though she was disconnecting from him piece by piece. So much had been going on in her life, yet he knew nothing. He had become complacent; like a pig in shit, not knowing that he was about to become bacon.

A part of him had always known that all of this was too good to be true. For him, it was the perfect arrangement, where he got his fix of her presence, but didn't need to commit to anything. She, on the other had had been falling apart.

He was shocked back into reality as cold water splashed over his leg. His Babe was walking away, tears streaming down her face. He stood and ran after her.

Turning her around, his temper flared "How dare you!"

"Ranger let me go please." She whimpered

"No!" he pulled her closer, "You think you can just walk out of my life? You think you can walk away as though it won't make a single difference in my life? As though I don't think about you throughout my every waking moment? You think you can walk away without knowing how much I love you?"

He growled as he saw her resisting his embrace, "Did you not think about how I was there every single day, waiting for those fifteen god damn minutes like a drug addict. Do you not feel me close my arms around you and finally sigh in relief? Do you know how much control it takes to not follow you around like a love sick puppy every single day? It has nothing to do with safety Babe, it has everything to do with how my life is a hollow shell without you."

She had finally stopped resisting, and was sobbing into his jacket.


	8. Chapter 8

The rain startled them out of their embrace and they headed for the café across the street. They both ordered a coffee and Steph ordered a cake. She deserved it after all the growing up she had done today.

They both sat in a quiet booth. Ranger slid in next to his Babe, refusing to give her space, especially in light of everything she's just told him. Look where giving her space had gotten him.

"I love you Babe, please don't move away." He looked into her eyes, pleadingly.

She shook her head "You're just saying that now, what happens when you freak out about being in a relationship and start spouting crazy lines to drive me away again?"

"Babe, I was afraid of asking you about the hugs because I didn't want it to stop okay? I do love you, and I'll do anything to prove it."

She was quiet as their coffee arrived. They sat in silence for a while. Stephanie was listening to the pitter patter of the rain, whilst Ranger was busy listening to his own thundering heart. The cake was devoured as soon as it had been placed on the table.

They both sat there, both uncertain of their respective futures.

Finally, Ranger opened his wallet and handed it over to Stephanie. She was confused until she looked at it. There was a photo of them, sitting together after a distraction. Both smiling at each other.

The flood gates opened again, she was an emotional mess. Ranger was unsure if he had just ruined his chances. The look on his face was so adorable that Steph couldn't help but laugh. Now she was laughing and crying, and that was stressing Ranger out. He was terrified of his Babe right now.

Finally getting herself under control, she crawled into his lap and they sat there, in the café, listening to the rain together.

"I love you too" She whispered.

"Babe, I have always loved you, I just wasn't ready to admit it. Please come home with me. I would really like you to move in with me."

She leaned back to look into his eyes, the sincerity she saw there reassured her "Okay, but Rex will have to move in too."

Ranger couldn't help but laugh out loud at that, he was so relieved that the laughter felt cathartic. Soon they were both laughing together, locked tight in an embrace, until the waiter walked by, coughing loudly.

"Let's go home Babe, the men missed you today."

She smiled, "Let's go home Batman."

~ Finish ~

Yay! I did it! I finished a story! I have been a bit terrible lately, starting stories but leaving them unfinished. I was planning on taking this into a different direction, but you know how it is… The characters have a mind of their own. I hope you enjoyed it, please leave me a review if you have any feedback or anything. I'm sorry if there are typos and mistakes, I've literally done this entire story in one sitting.

Anyhow, if anyone remembers the name of this story, please tell me – Ranger gets Steph drunk and then they get married. Steph doesn't know and they are supposed to get a divorce but then they agree to stay married and then they have an engagement party and then someone shows the wedding video and Steph knows and then she's mad at Ranger. Then she learns to cook really awesome stuff and they find out she's pregnant and they decide to get their act together for the baby… Anyone? This was an awesome story, but I can't find it.


End file.
